Mentoring Like Jesus

In Mentor Like Jesus, Regi Campbell questions all conventional thinking about mentoring by simply looking at the example of Jesus. He says:

We have visualized Jesus as CEO, Jesus as an environmentalist, and even thought about what Jesus’ politics might have been. But in reality … in history … regardless of your religious beliefs, Jesus was a mentor.

He describes eleven characteristics of what he calls Next Generation Mentoring, which include:

1. It is on purpose. Mentoring is an intentional relationship that is unlike any other. Regi says it is not about knowing something. That is education. It is not about learning to do to something. That is training. Mentoring is about showing someone how to be something.
   
2. It is a selfless endeavor. Mentoring is about giving back to others. It is hard work for the mentor. The benefits are not always immediately apparent. It is about the mentorees and investing in their future. It is about them, not about the mentor.
3. It starts in a group context. Jesus did meet with people one-on-one. He also spoke to large crowds. But He primarily worked with a group of twelve men. He mentored in the context of a small group. This was His priority.
4. It involves hand-picked mentorees. The twelve disciples did not chose Jesus; He chose them. He did so after praying all night (the longest prayer mentioned in the Bible). As the mentor, He took the initiative, not the mentorees. He chose them—and they responded.
5. It is for a defined period of time. He gave His disciples just three years of His life. He could have started earlier. He could have started later. But He began definitively, and He also ended definitively. His discipleship program lasted three years.
6. It is centered on truth. Jesus taught His mentorees about truth. He focused on the Scriptures and living life in a way that pleased God. He told parables and stories. He asked tough questions. But it was all for the purpose of having His mentorees confront the truth about God, themselves, and the world.
7. It involves the practice of prayer. One of the disciples’ first requests was, “Lord, teach us to pray” (see Luke 11:1). Jesus not only taught them to pray, He prayed with them.
8. It requires transparent modeling. Jesus’ mentorees saw Him in the good times (e.g., the triumphal entry into Jerusalem) and the bad (e.g., the Garden of Gethsemane). They saw how He reacted to daily life. What He did spoke as loudly as what He said. He was completely and utterly transparent.
9. It incorporates a contextual component. Jesus appointed twelve “that they might be with Him” (see Mark 3:14). They saw how Jesus responded to daily life. They saw him confront injustice, face temptation, and weep publicly. He did not offer theoretical instruction. He “did life” with them.
10. It demands mutual commitment. Jesus’ discipleship program was demanding. He asked his mentorees to make a radical commitment. This was not a lowest-common-denominator program. Their relationship with one another took priority over everything else—for Him and for them.
11. It requires a multiplication element. Ultimately, the disciples’ relationship with Jesus wasn’t about them individually or even their own group. It was about the people they would ultimately reach. He required them to “pay it forward” and invest in others (see Matthew 28:18–20 and 1 Thessalonians 2:8).

HT: Michael Hyatt